''What About Bob?'' is a 1991 American
black comedy
Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...
film directed by
Frank Oz
Frank Oz (born Frank Richard Oznowicz; May 25, 1944) is an American actor, puppeteer, and filmmaker.
He began his career as a puppeteer, performing the Muppet characters of Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, and Sam Eagle in ''The Muppet Show ...
and starring
Bill Murray
William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan delivery. He rose to fame on ''The National Lampoon Radio Hour'' (1973–1974) before becoming a national presence on ''Saturday Nigh ...
and
Richard Dreyfuss
Richard Stephen Dreyfuss (; born Dreyfus; October 29, 1947) is an American actor. He is known for starring in popular films during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, including ''American Graffiti'' (1973), ''Jaws'' (1975), ''Close Encounters of the T ...
. Murray plays Bob Wiley, a troubled patient who follows his self-centered
psychotherapist
Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase happiness, and overcome pro ...
Dr. Leo Marvin (Dreyfuss) on vacation. When Bob befriends the other members of Leo's family, the patient's problems push the doctor over the edge.
The film received positive reviews and was a box office success. This film is number 43 on
Bravo
Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels
*Bravo (band), a Russian rock band
* Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984
*Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing company ...
's "100 Funniest Movies".
Plot
In
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
Bob Wiley has great work ethic and treats people well, but he suffers from multiple phobias which makes it difficult for him to leave his apartment and is divorced because his ex-wife likes
Neil Diamond
Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time. He has had ten No. 1 singles on the Hot 100 and Adul ...
and he does not. Despite regular therapy, he makes little progress and his fears compel him to seek constant reassurance from his therapists.
Exhausted by Bob's high-maintenance conditions and invasions of personal boundaries, his current therapist refers him to the egotistical Dr. Leo Marvin, who believes his recently published book ''Baby Steps'' will make him a household name. Bob feels good about their initial session, but Dr. Marvin dismisses Bob in a rush to his long-standing, month-long family vacation. Unable to cope, Bob contacts Leo via his telephone exchange and tries to find out where he is, but Leo dismisses him. Then Bob pays a prostitute to impersonate Leo's sister Lily so Bob can call him, but Leo tells Bob he cannot trust him if he pulls any more stunts like that. He then disguises himself as a homicide detective telling the switchboard operator that Bob committed suicide and tracks Leo to
Lake Winnipesaukee
Lake Winnipesaukee () is the largest lake in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, located in the Lakes Region at the foothills of the White Mountains. It is approximately long (northwest-southeast) and from wide (northeast-southwest), covering & ...
,
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
. Leo is annoyed, but sees Bob's desperation and tells him to "take a vacation" from his problems. Bob seems to have made a breakthrough, but the next morning, he tells Leo that he will also be vacationing at Lake Winnipesaukee as a guest of the Guttmans, who hold a grudge against Leo for purchasing the lakeside home they had been scrimping and saving for years to buy.
Leo dismisses Bob's attempts at friendship as he believes patients are beneath him, but Bob ingratiates himself with Leo's family and relates to the problems of Leo's kids, Anna and Sigmund "Siggy", in contrast with their father's clinical approach. Bob begins to enjoy life, going sailing with Anna and helping Sigmund dive, which Leo had been unsuccessfully trying for years. After Leo angrily pushes Bob into the lake, Leo's wife Fay forces him to apologize, which he begrudgingly does. She then invites Bob to dinner and he accepts, believing Leo's slights against him are either accidental or part of his therapy. After dinner, a thunderstorm forces Bob to spend the night. Before sleeping, Bob, being germaphobic up to this point, throws away the tissues that he carried with him everywhere when making contact with various objects, showing that he is slowly making therapeutic progress. Leo wants Bob out of the house early the next morning before ''
Good Morning America
''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...
'' arrives to interview him about ''Baby Steps''. The TV crew, oblivious to Leo's discomfort, suggest having Bob on the show as well. Leo humiliates himself during the interview, while Bob is relaxed and speaks glowingly of Leo and the book, inadvertently stealing the spotlight.
Leo attempts to have Bob institutionalized, but Bob is soon released after befriending the hospital staff and telling them therapy jokes, demonstrating his sanity and showing that he has made real therapeutic progress due to his time with Dr. Marvin's family. Forced to retrieve Bob, Leo abandons him in the middle of nowhere, but Bob quickly gets a ride back to Leo's house while various mishaps delay Leo. Returning after nightfall, Leo is surprised by the birthday party Fay has secretly planned for him and is delighted to see his beloved sister Lily. When Bob appears and puts his arm around Lily, Leo becomes completely psychotic and attacks him. Bob still remains oblivious to Leo's hostility until Fay explains Leo's grudge against Bob, to which Bob finally understands and agrees to leave.
Leo breaks into a general store, stealing a shotgun and 20 pounds of explosives and kidnaps Bob at gunpoint. Leo leads him deep into the woods and ties him up with the explosives, calling it "death therapy", and returns to the house, gleefully preparing his cover story. Believing the explosives are props as a metaphor for his problems, Bob applies Leo's "''Baby Steps''" approach and manages to free himself of his restraints and remaining fears; he reunites with the Marvins and praises Leo for curing him. Leo asks Bob where the explosives are and Bob says they are in the family's vacation house, which promptly explodes into flames, much to the Guttmans' delight. Horrified, Leo is rendered
catatonic
Catatonia is a complex neuropsychiatric behavioral syndrome that is characterized by abnormal movements, immobility, abnormal behaviors, and withdrawal. The onset of catatonia can be acute or subtle and symptoms can wax, wane, or change during ...
and institutionalized while having his medical license revoked for attempted murder.
Some time later, Bob marries Leo's sister, and upon their pronouncement as husband and wife, the still-catatonic Leo finally regains his senses and screams, "No!", but the sentiment is lost in the family's excitement at his recovery, and Leo is forced to accept Bob as his new brother-in-law. Text at the end reveals that Bob went back to school and became a psychologist, then wrote a best-selling book titled ''Death Therapy'', for which Leo is suing him for the rights.
Cast
Production
Before Frank Oz was hired to direct,
Garry Marshall
Garry Kent Marshall (November 13, 1934 – July 19, 2016) was an American filmmaker and actor. He started his career in the 1960s writing for ''The Lucy Show'' and ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' before he developed Neil Simon's 1965 play ''The Odd Co ...
was considered, and
Woody Allen
Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...
was approached to play Dr. Marvin. Allen was also considered to direct and possibly co-write the script with Tom Schulman.
However, because Allen had always generated his own projects rather than getting handed an existing property to make his own, Oz was hired to direct. Allen also declined the role of Dr. Marvin, thus Richard Dreyfuss was ultimately cast.
Patrick Stewart
Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor who has a career spanning seven decades in various stage productions, television, film and video games. He has been nominated for Olivier, Tony, Golden Globe, Emmy, and Screen Actor ...
was also considered for the role. Early in development,
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...
was attached to the project.
Filming
''What About Bob?'' was filmed in and around the town of
Moneta, Virginia
Moneta is a census-designated place in Bedford County, Virginia, United States. The community is located along Route 122 between the towns of Bedford and Rocky Mount.
History
Olive Branch Missionary Baptist Church and the Holland-Duncan Hous ...
, located on
Smith Mountain Lake
Smith Mountain Lake is a large reservoir in the Roanoke Region of Virginia, United States, located southeast of the City of Roanoke and southwest of Lynchburg. The lake was created in 1963 by the Smith Mountain Dam impounding the Roanoke River. ...
.
For the scene in which Bob accidentally blows the house up, producers used a -sized model replica of the actual house that they detonated on a nearby lot.
[
The scenes of Bob arriving in town on the bus with his goldfish were filmed in downtown ]Moneta
In Roman mythology, Moneta (Latin Monēta) was a title given to two separate goddesses: It was the name of the goddess of memory (identified with the Greek goddess Mnemosyne), and it was an epithet of Juno, called Juno Moneta (Latin Iūno Monēt ...
, which was spruced-up and repainted for the movie. The local institute where Leo tries to commit Bob is actually the local Elks National Home
Spring Oak Senior Living Community - Elks Home (formerly The Elks National Home) is a retirement home and national historic district located at Bedford, Virginia.
History
The Elks National Home was built in 1916 by the Benevolent and Protectiv ...
for retirees in the nearby town of Bedford, Virginia
Bedford is an incorporated town and former Independent city (United States)#Virginia, independent city located within Bedford County, Virginia, Bedford County in the U.S. state of Virginia. It serves as the county seat of Bedford County. As of the ...
.
Scenes were also shot in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. According to Oz, Murray was "really frightened" about filming in the city.
Murray confirmed that he improvised a lot in the film.
Production difficulties
Oz has admitted in interviews that there was tension on the set during the making of the film.[ In addition, both Murray and Dreyfuss have confirmed in separate interviews that they did not get along with each other during filming:
Oz himself also verified that there was a feud between Murray and Dreyfuss:
In subsequent interviews, Dreyfuss reiterated what he said of his experience working with Murray, notably when he appeared at ]Fan Expo Canada
Fan Expo Canada is an annual speculative fiction fan convention held in Toronto, Ontario. It was founded as the Canadian National Comic Book Expo in 1995[The Howard Stern Show
''The Howard Stern Show'' is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern that gained wide recognition when it was nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from WXRK in New York City, between 1986 and 2005. The show has aired on Howard 100 a ...](_blank)
'' in 2014, Howard Stern
Howard Allan Stern (born January 12, 1954) is an American radio and television personality, comedian, and author. He is best known for his radio show, ''The Howard Stern Show'', which gained popularity when it was nationally syndicated on terre ...
asked him if he intended to annoy Dreyfuss. Murray responded: "I really try to make the other actor look good whenever I can (...) In this particular film, annoying Dreyfuss, which I kind of got to enjoy I gotta confess—but I didn't try to annoy him off the screen." Although neither of them have crossed paths since the release of the film, Dreyfuss confirmed in a 2020 interview that he has forgiven Murray.
Producer Laura Ziskin
Laura Ellen ZiskinGale Research Company (2002). ''Contemporary theatre, film, and television,'' p. 388. Gale Research Co., (March 3, 1950 – June 12, 2011) was an American film producer, known as the executive producer of ''Pretty Woman'' (1990 ...
recalled having a disagreement with Murray that resulted in his tossing her into a lake. Ziskin confirmed in 2003: "Bill also threatened to throw me across the parking lot and then broke my sunglasses and threw them across the parking lot. I was furious and outraged at the time, but having produced a dozen movies, I can safely say it is not common behavior".[
In April 2022, following the suspension of the '']Being Mortal
''Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End'' is a 2014 non-fiction book by American surgeon Atul Gawande. The book addresses end-of-life care, hospice care, and also contains Gawande's reflections and personal stories. He suggests that ...
'' production, Dreyfuss's son Ben
Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett or Benson, and is also a given name in its own right.
Ben (in he, בֶּן, ''son of'') forms part of Hebrew surnames, e.g. Abraham ben Abraham ( he, × ...
tweeted a recollection about Murray's on-set behavior towards his father and Ziskin: "Bill Murray had a meltdown during 'What About Bob?''because he wanted an extra day off and Laura said no and he ripped her glasses off her face and my dad complained about his behavior and Bill Murray threw an ashtray at him." Ben also added, "Everyone walked off the production and flew back to L.A. and it only resumed after Disney hired some bodyguards to physically separate my dad and Bill Murray in between takes."
Profits lawsuit
In April 2015, Richard Dreyfuss sued The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
over the film's profits. Dreyfuss has claimed that Disney refused to hire his chosen auditor, Robinson and Co. Christine Turner Wagner, widow of ''Turner & Hooch
''Turner & Hooch'' is a 1989 American buddy cop comedy film starring Tom Hanks and Beasley the Dog as the eponymous characters respectively. The film also co-stars Mare Winningham, Craig T. Nelson and Reginald VelJohnson. It was directed by Rog ...
'' (1989) producer Raymond Wagner, was also involved with the lawsuit.
Reception
''What About Bob?'' was a financial success. Made on a $39 million budget, it grossed $64 million domestically during its original theatrical run, Buena Vista's highest-grossing live action film of the year.
Critical response
Critical reaction was also favorable. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
gives the film a "Certified Fresh" 82% rating based on reviews from 44 critics with an average rating of 6.50/10. The site's consensus reads: "Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss' chemistry helps make the most of a familiar yet durable premise, elevating ''What About Bob?'' into the upper ranks of '90s comedies".
When the television program ''Siskel and Ebert
Gene Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) and Roger Ebert (June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013), collectively known as Siskel & Ebert, were American film critics known for their partnership on television lasting from 1975 to Siskel's dea ...
'' reviewed the film, Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
gave the film a "thumbs up" rating praising the different performances of Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss onscreen together as well as most of the film's humor. He said it was Bill Murray's best movie since ''Ghostbusters
''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American Supernatural fiction, supernatural comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and ...
'' in 1984. Gene Siskel
Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune''. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted a series of movie review programs on television from 1975 until his d ...
gave it a "thumbs down" rating and felt Murray gave a very funny and enjoyable performance in the film, but was rather upset by the Dreyfuss character and his angry and arrogant behaviors. He felt it would have been funnier if Dreyfuss had not given such an angry performance in the film and said that Dreyfuss ultimately ruined the film for him.
Leonard Maltin
Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fil ...
also gave the film a favorable review: in ''Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide'' he gives the film three stars out of a possible four, saying it's "a very funny outing with Murray and Dreyfuss approaching the relationship of the road runner and the coyote". Maltin faulted the film only for its ending, which he found very abrupt and silly.
Lou Cedrone from ''The Baltimore Sun
''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries.
Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...
'' criticized the film: "It is too predictable and deals with a situation that is more irritating than amusing".
See also
* ''Anger Management'' — 2003 buddy comedy
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the olde ...
film about a businessman and his therapist
References
External links
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{{Frank Oz
1990s black comedy films
1991 comedy films
1991 films
American black comedy films
1990s English-language films
Films about codependency
Films about dysfunctional families
Films about psychiatry
Films about narcissism
Films about vacationing
Films directed by Frank Oz
Films scored by Miles Goodman
Films set in New Hampshire
Films set in New York City
Films shot in Virginia
Films with screenplays by Alvin Sargent
Touchstone Pictures films
1990s American films